A wireless channel is said to be ultra-wide if its −20 dB bandwidth is wider than one quarter of its carrier (center) frequency. Ultra-wide bandwidth (UWB) radio technology has been used in the past for radar and remote sensing applications. Recently, however, the use of ultra-wide bandwidth technology has been proposed for use in wireless communications. An UWB communication channel has the advantage of providing single, integrated, homogeneous and seamless access for a wide variety of wireless services. The UWB radio system has its design based on a method similar to the one used in radar systems, which is the transmission of carrierless ultra-short (tenths of nsec) pulses or impulses. These impulses are transmitted at random or pseudo-random time intervals, in order to minimize other user interference in multiple access channels. This method is known as time-hopping impulse-radio (TH-IR).
The present invention uses ultra-wide bandwidth technology for wireless in-premises networking. In-home communications and networking are used as an example of in-premises communications and networking. An UWB wireless in-home network (WIN) will distribute cable TV channels and provide wireless links for Internet access and local area networking in every room of the home. The required bit rate for such a network is estimated to be 500 Mb/s or more. In order to meet such a bit rate requirement the proposed UWB system has to have an alternative design. Unlike the TH-IR, the UWB link presented herein has been designed in the frequency domain with a carrier in the frequency region of 6 GHz. Also, the present invention suppresses the narrow-band interference, which is often present in UWB channels.